Monday, February 18, 2013

First Rule of Telepathy: Use it Wisely

Rob is home for mid-tour leave, so I'm filling this month with some of my favorite guest posts. This one is from the Mind Over Mind book tour of Aug 2011. It was on my mind, since I've just finished the revisions to the second in the trilogy, Mind Over Psyche. Incidentally, if you've not read it, consider doing so! http://www.amazon.com/Mind-Over-Karina-L-Fabian/dp/1897492367

First Rule of Telepathy:Use it Wisely

By Karina Fabian

Did you ever see Friday the 13th: The New Blood?I haven't, but my husband likes to tell me
about the scene he most despises:Jason
is chasing the psychic girl, and as she flees, she mentally knocks things in
his path, throws a tractor at him, does everything she can to stop him…Except the one thing that makes sense.

"If she can pick up a tractor, why can't she pick him
up?"Rob demanded even a decade
later."Just hold him at a
distance; or, if she doesn’t think she can concentrate that long, slam him
against the trees."

This illustrates to me the key to writing convincing
telepathy--or magic, or science fiction:If you are going to establish a power, then think about the logical uses
and consequences!

I had to give this a lot of thought in my novel, Mind Over
Mind.What did telepathy mean to my
character Deryl.He could read
minds--what about emotions?What about
memories?Could he project as well as
receive; and if so, how "real" could he make his illusions and for
how long?What did all this cost him in
terms of energy and concentration?Most
importantly, how and how well could he control his abilities?

Whatever "power" you use in your story--psychic,
magic, or technological--you need to establish overarching rules--what can the
person do or not do with the power?What
are its limits and why?What does the
power cost?The easiest way to answer
these questions is to explore what others have done and to keep asking yourself
questions:What if this?How does that work?When does this fail?When you get an answer, follow-up with why.

As it turns out for poor Deryl, he had little control over
what he received and the confusion led him to attempt suicide and get
committed--good luck convincing the psychiatric staff that the voices in your
head are real.Mind Over Mind, the first book in the trilogy, he basically comes
to terms with his ability.In the second
book, he'll learn what he's meant to do with those powers.

I promise:If he's ever
being chased by a madman, he'll either know better than to toss a tractor--or
his buddy will call him on it.